What’s up, Bots? I hope you had a lovely Veterans’ Day, and if you are a veteran, thank you for your service.
Today I have been busy getting things done. First physical therapy (three times a week now), which basically means that I pay people to hurt me. A lot. As I am struggling through another push from the therapist to increase the bend in my knee, I frequently look over at other patients who appear to be getting some sort of therapeutic massage. Why – oh – why does my therapy have to hurt so badly? Oh, that’s right. I had a total knee replacement that went horribly wrong. After almost a year of PT and trying to get to the coveted 120 degrees of bend (which is what you need to handle stairs fluidly), I underwent a manipulation of the same knee.
That is indeed as bad as it sounds. They put you under and then shove your knee into as deep of a bend as they can manage. In my head, the surgeon backs up to the opposite side of the operating room and then runs at my partially bent leg as fast as he can and hits my shin with as much force as he can muster. Soothing imagery, right? And then they take a picture of your bent leg with a wee bit of butt showing no matter how carefully they drape you. This breaks all of the scar tissue and, presumably, the photo that they take to show you the bend shames you into pushing further and further when you are back in PT. It certainly would be decent blackmailing material.
At least I get colorful fancy taping done at therapy. The tape is meant to lift the surface of my skin over my knee. This promotes blood flow and reduces swelling. Also, it is supposed to make it a little easier for me to bend. I have no idea about the science behind it, but I can tell you that it feels better taped. Plus, look at the fashion statement! One of the ways I keep things light is to have the therapists choose the color of tape each time. “What color tape do you want,” they ask. “Therapists choice!” I retort. The result is that I have a different pattern almost every day. It is important to take joy in the little things.
Anyway, today was a PT day. Then I got my head shaved – always a favorite activity for me. Next was the post office for my wife. This evening I am going to attend a networking event (for as long as I can handle).
For those of you who have been kindly following me for years, you will note that this is an odd post after not posting much of anything for over a year. I thought it best to just start like we were in the middle of a conversation already. LOL. Hope that works for you.
It’s Butch to show off your pretty knee. Be Butch.